Anxiety and Stress
Everyone will experience feelings of anxiety and worry many times throughout their lifetime. For example, you may feel worried or anxious about a job interview, getting the results from a medical test, financial issues or even getting married. Feelings of worry and anxiety are perfectly normal reactions to the daily pressures of life. However, for some people, these feelings of worry or anxiety can become intrusive in their lives, and may begin to affect them on a daily basis.
NHS Direct estimate that approximately 1 in 50 people will suffer with generalised anxiety disorder at some point during their lifetime.
The condition is most likely to occur to people in their 20s and it affects slightly more women than men. It is a long-term condition that can make you feel anxious about a very wide range of issues, rather than your anxiety or fear relating to one specific issue. You may find that you are anxious most days and may not be able to remember the last time you were able to properly relax.
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The NHS identifies the symptoms of anxiety as being many and varied, for example:
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Feeling ‘on edge’
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Restlessness
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Sense of dread
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Difficulty concentrating
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Irritability
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Impatience
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Being easily distracted
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Dizziness
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Lethargy
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Pins and needles
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Irregular heart beat (palpitations)
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Muscle aches
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Dry mouth
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Excessive sweating
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Shortness of breath
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Stomach ache
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Headache
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Diarrhoea
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Excessive thirst
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Frequent urination
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Painful or missed periods
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Difficulty in falling, or staying, asleep
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Some people experience ‘panic attacks’ which can feel very frightening indeed, with people often describing how they thought they were going to die, usually of a heart attack.
There are also many diagnosable conditions for which anxiety is the main symptom. For example, panic disorder, phobias, post-traumatic syndrome and generalised anxiety disorder. The content on this page will be equally relevant for someone who has one of these conditions, so please do contact us if you have any questions.
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How Hypnotherapy Can Help
If you are suffering with mild anxiety that is related to a specific upcoming event, for example, if you are due to sit an examination or are due to have an operation, then hypnosis, combined with suggestion therapy could enable you to reduce your worry or anxiety and to feel more in control.
It can provide you with a greater sense of self; it can boost self-confidence and self-esteem; it can help you build on your self-belief and you can have a strong visual image of yourself being calm and self-assured in your upcoming event.
An added bonus is that hypnosis is wonderfully relaxing and reduces stress levels.
IAEBP therapists have substantial experience of helping people to reduce their worries and anxieties in relation to specific events, and you would often need just one session a week or two before the event in question, however, it would be advisable to contact someone at least a month in advance.
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Beliefs work can help with ongoing, longer-term issues with Anxiety or Stress
Perhaps your issues are more long term or pervasive and you have found that your anxiety is having a limiting effect upon your life? Or perhaps you would like to remove and resolve all future issues with anxiety? In these circumstances it is better to have a long chat with your chosen therapist to see if you would benefit most from a particular course of psychotherapy that most IAEBP members offer – beliefs work – or whether a deeper approach is called for (see here).
With beliefs work, you will learn to identify your unhelpful thinking and beliefs, understand their impact on the way you feel and your approach to life, and be able to develop a much more effective way of managing your thinking. Not only will you be free to enjoy a more fulfilled and relaxed approach to things you used to worry over, but you will gain a healthier perspective on so much more in life. You will learn to thrive!